Body Double (1984)

Body Double (1984)

IMDb - 67%

67%

Rotten Tomatoes - 79%

79%

Roger Ebert - 87.5%

87.5%

Summary

Body Double is a 1984 American thriller film directed by Brian De Palma and starring Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, and Gregg Henry. The original musical score was composed by Pino Donaggio. The film was a direct homage to the films of Alfred Hitchcock, specifically Rear Window (1954) and Vertigo (1958), taking plot lines and themes (voyeurism, obsession) from both. Jake Scully (Craig Wasson) is a struggling actor who has lost his role as a vampire in a low-budget horror movie after his claustrophobia thwarts shooting. He returns home to discover his girlfriend cheating on him, so Scully is left without a place to stay. At a method acting class he meets Sam (Gregg Henry) who closely monitors Scully's revelation of his fears and the childhood cause of his claustrophobia. They go to a bar where Scully is offered a place to stay; Sam's friend has left town temporarily and needs a house-sitter for his ultra-modern home in the Hollywood Hills.